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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848713">The panoply of the stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChopinWorshipper/pseuds/ChopinWorshipper'>ChopinWorshipper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My beloved nemesis - My significant bother [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Asmodeus gets sentimental and nostalgic, Astaroth causes a blackout, Astaroth cheers them up, Astaroth is a mute, Astaroth used to be Inanna/Ishtar, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kinda, Raphael misses his siblings, Stargazing, Uriel Needs A Hug, Uriel is sad, Uriel understands her anyways, Ze/Zir Pronouns for Asmodeus, because she can, everyone loves the stars, she speaks her own sign language, they're frenemies, they/them pronouns for uriel, to Angels their human corporation is just a meatsuit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:14:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,425</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChopinWorshipper/pseuds/ChopinWorshipper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Uriel, the Archangel of Knowledge, is depressed.<br/>Astaroth, the Archdemon formerly known as the goddess Astarte or Inanna/Ishtar, knows just how to cheer them up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asmodeus &amp; Raphael, Astaroth &amp; Uriel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My beloved nemesis - My significant bother [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148942</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The panoply of the stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Uriel had never liked being among people.</p><p>No matter how hard they tried, they could never help but be frustrated at how slow the minds of humans were in comparison to their own.</p><p>The Archangel didn't mean to be condescending and definitely didn't want to come across as a know-it-all. They loved sharing their knowledge and giving humans a bright idea or a little nudge towards the truth here and there. But trying to get down to a human level was just so <em>hard</em>!</p><p>The bits of wisdom and knowledge Uriel could feed humans with were microscopical and carefully considered. It was frustrating. However, the human mind was so limited and fragile, that showing them too much would damage them beyond repair, if the Archangel wasn't extremely careful (and Uriel had been reprimanded several times for accidentally driving humans mad).</p><p>It was just so tiring to interact with people (not just humans, people in general), that the Archangel just wanted to be left alone most of the time. So Uriel buried themselves in their study in their own Heavenly quarters most of the time, with writing, literature and art.</p><p>Every time they came to Earth, they usually tried to get their job done as quickly as possible</p><p>The Archangel of Healing would spend 90% of his time here, running his several pharmacies and helping people in need. Raphael was just too sweet and tender for this world, though that was just Uriel's humble opinion.</p><p>Then again, Uriel was also the Angel of Judgement, notorious for being as merciless as any demon – and they <em>were</em> judgemental. They were also the most radical and temperamental Archangel (even Gabriel had more chill and he had <em>incinerated</em> Sodom and Gomorrah without batting an eye).</p><p>Uriel felt like they didn't fit in.</p><p>Not that anyone other than the Almighty would understand.</p><p>.</p><p>Right now, it was night time and Uriel was sitting on the edge of the roof of a sky scraper, dangling their legs and enjoying the feeling of the chilly wind in their snow white hair.</p><p>They had come to visit Raphael in his surgery in the US, but found themselves unable to.</p><p>So they just leaned back and hoped that, if they looked hard enough, they would be able to spy a star.</p><p>No such luck.</p><p>Stupid fucking light pollution.</p><p>It made Uriel upset; they had always loved the stars.</p><p>To cheer themselves up a little, they began to hum “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”.</p><p>But as they came to the third verse, a quiet noise (which was definitely not the wind or the traffic below) made them tense up. Their face darkened; this low, voiceless laugh they would recognise anywhere.</p><p>As they turned around to glare at the newcomer, they found a tall woman with tan skin and black hair, smiling and waving hello.</p><p>“Did you have to sneak up on me like that?!”, Uriel hissed.</p><p>The woman just kept smiling.</p><p>Uriel glared harder. “Don't play coy with me, demon! You wanted to startle me into falling off the roof, so that I would have to spread my wings right above the buzzing road, if I didn't want to discorporate!”</p><p>The other person smirked and signed: “<em>Guilty as charged. But won't you say hello? Really, you need to learn some manners. I am a Prince and an Archduchess, after all.”</em></p><p>“Go back to Hell!”, Uriel spat.</p><p>But when the other just wagged their finger, they gave in and huffed: “Fine. Good evening, Astaroth. What do you want?”</p><p>Astaroth changed her shape and a second later stood before Uriel as the blue-haired, pale-faced menace they knew so well. She tucked away her wings (safe for the head pair) and sat beside them.</p><p>“<em>I was merely enjoying my vacation”</em>, she signed<em>.</em></p><p>The Archangel held back a snort; <em>of course</em> she was on vacation. The demonic Archduchess was the kind of demon, who would put a decent amount of effort into her work, but also milk every minute of free time she could get.</p><p>“That doesn't answer my question, though”, Uriel pointed out. “Again, what do you want from me? Do you have nothing to do? Like tempting people to sloth, making them doubt themselves or giving your summoners all the knowledge they could ever dream of, while robbing them of their place in Heaven, like the manipulative, vile seductress you are? Like in the old days, when you deluded humans into worshipping you as Inanna¹?”</p><p>Astaroth smiled lopsidedly and signed: “<em>You flatter me. But I'm not Asmodeus.”</em></p><p>“Definitely”, the Archangel muttered. “At least that arsehole has a work ethic!”</p><p>Asmodeus was quite industrious and invested in zir temptation work, which was one of the things that made zir so dangerous. With the Prince of Lust, you could never catch a break; ze was brilliant, subtle and resourceful, but also extremely infuriating. It had taken Uriel almost three thousand years to figure out, how Raphael could stand being around zir for longer than five minutes.</p><p>“That aside, Ashtoreth”, Uriel continued, “I'm really in no mood to play your twisted mind games, so fuck off and leave me alone! You being an Archduchess of Hell doesn't give you the right to interrupt my moment of peace and quiet!”</p><p>“<em>Watch your language, Archangel”,</em> Astaroth signed with a frown. “<em>It's unbecoming of a heavenly being to be so stroppy and you know it.”</em></p><p>The hoary Archangel just grunted in response.</p><p>They knew, that the demoness had a point: they swore way too much. Michael scolded them for it all the time. But they refused to give Astaroth the satisfaction of admitting that she was right.</p><p>“<em>You're also quite patronising”</em>, she kept signing, <em>“You ought to treat your elders with more respect.”</em></p><p>“… Seriously?! Are we going there again? You think you being older than me automatically entitles you to my respect? Oh no, that's not how it works! If you want my respect, you have to <em>earn </em>it!”</p><p>The blue-haired Archdemon arched an eyebrow. <em>“Oh?”</em>, she mouthed. <em>“That sounds suspiciously like those capitalist corporates, who keep drilling it into people's heads, that if they can't contribute anything to society, they're worthless and undeserving of basic respect and dignity. Then again, they also do the same to non-white people, no matter how hard they work.”</em></p><p>Uriel stared at the demon in utter horror.</p><p>Did she really perceive it like that?! They hadn't meant to- they weren't like- they didn't mean or even <em>want</em> to come across like that!</p><p>“What, no! You know that's not what I'm trying to say!”, they cried frantically, “What I mean is-”</p><p>She put a finger on their mouth and shushed them. <em>“I get what you mean”</em>, she responded, this time telepathically. <em>“You're forgetting, that I know you.”</em></p><p>Yes, know them she did indeed – and Uriel hated her for it.</p><p>“<em>How many times have we had this conversation now?”</em>, she inquired. <em>“56 098 times?”</em></p><p>“56 099”, Uriel corrected tiredly. “This one included.”</p><p>Suddenly the Archangel felt so exhausted, they wanted to just curl up on that roof and take a nap right then and there. But they weren't stupid enough to do that with Astaroth next to them.</p><p>The demon clicked her tongue to get their attention again.</p><p>“<em>That aside”</em>, she signed, <em>“I simply chose to join you, because I saw you sitting here on the edge of the roof of a skyscraper, like you wanted to jump and discorporate yourself. I wanted to see what the matter is.”</em></p><p>The Archangel glared at her. “I did <em>not</em> want to discorporate myself by jumping off the roof! Not that it would matter, because my wings would open up reflexively before I hit the ground anyway.”</p><p>She tilted her head. <em>“Have you tried it before?”</em></p><p>“Wh- no! Why would I-?” But when they saw her sceptical expression, they gave up. “Alright, <em>fine</em>. Yes, I have tried to kill my previous meat suits before. The last one was male and … and …”</p><p>“<em>You couldn't stand having a gross meat roll and balls dangling between your thighs?”</em>, Astaroth guessed.</p><p>Uriel bit their lip, but nodded.</p><p>Astaroth signed: <em>“Sucks to have to deal with a body you don't want. But back to the matter at hand: why won't you tell me what has you so down in the dumps?”</em></p><p>She put on a winsome smile and Uriel looked away. They would not talk about their problems with <em>her</em> of all people. It was none of her business.</p><p>Gently the Archdemon cupped their pallid cheeks, forcing them to face her again.</p><p>Her smile said: Come on. Unburden your heart to me.</p><p>“You're the enemy”, the Archangel muttered. “Why would I tell you my problems? I have friends and siblings to talk to.”</p><p>Her smile became a tad amused: But you don't talk to them.</p><p>“I hate you”, Uriel grumbled.</p><p>The twin-sister of Lucifer just shrugged, like the smug bitch she was.</p><p>With a wave of her hand she encouraged them to speak.</p><p>“You wouldn't understand”, the Archangel tried to excuse themselves.</p><p>“<em>Try me”</em>, the fallen Evening Star challenged.</p><p>“You do not care about your siblings like I care about mine.”</p><p>Her black eyes flashed and they could tell she knew it was about Raphael.</p><p>There was no point in denying it.</p><p>“<em>I know what happened”</em>, the Princess of Hell signed. <em>“Asmodeus told me.”</em></p><p>“Did ze now”, Uriel mumbled.</p><p>“<em>Yes. I must admit, I didn't think the little healer had it in him. Pretty ballsy, opposing the Angel of Death, knowing that she could destroy him with just a swing of her scythe.”</em></p><p>Which made the fact, that Raphael had opposed Azrael even more insane.</p><p>He was lucky that she was the benevolent and patient Angel she was. Still, Uriel had never seen her so emotional, let alone upset. Ever.</p><p>The Angel of Knowledge groaned in despair and grabbed their head with both hands.</p><p>“Dammit, Raphael … why did you have to go and screw over Azrael of all Angels?!”</p><p>Astaroth clicked her tongue, making Uriel look up and glare at her.</p><p>“<em>Now, now”,</em> she signed, <em>“You're talking as if he was fallen or dead. But Raphael is fine, isn't he? He has just been banished to Earth for a while. He has not been stripped of his powers, his immortality or even the Grace of God. On top of that, he spends most of his time on Earth anyway, doesn't he? So what difference does it make?”</em></p><p>Uriel just sighed. To them it made a huge difference.</p><p>“<em>Is that what you came here for?”</em>, the Archduchess inquired. <em>“To visit Raphael?”</em></p><p>The Archangel wasn't sure, if the answer was yes or no, but they replied anyways. “Actually, I came here to do my job. I just wanted to give inspiration and little ideas to burned out college and university students. And then I thought … while I'm here, why not visit Raphael? At this hour he's working in the night pharmacy he has here, as you probably know.”</p><p>The blue-haired Princess of Hell nodded affirmatively.</p><p>“But … when I came near his pharmacy …” They didn't want to finish that sentence.</p><p>But they didn't have to, because as soon as their pale red eyes met with the black ones of Astaroth, she understood.</p><p>She gave them a pitying look and patted their left hand (Uriel felt their skin crawl at the demon's touch). And then all of the sudden – a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.</p><p>“What are you plotting?”, they queried with narrowed eyes.</p><p>Ashtaroth only smiled serenely, which made Uriel even more suspicious.</p><p>Then she snapped her finger … and all the lights in the city went out at once.</p><p>The only light sources were now the moon, the heavenly gleam emitting from the Archangel and the eerie red glow coming from the Princess of Hell.</p><p>.</p><p>In another part of the city, Archangel Raphael was trying to calm down his freaked out customers.</p><p>“Everybody settle down!”, he cried out. “It's just a blackout. There is no reason to panic!”</p><p>“Hold on!”, a female voice piped up, “I think I got this – wait a second!”</p><p>And a lamp in the pharmacy went back on.</p><p>The frightened people relaxed a little and went on to get their prescribed medication from Raphael (they always got it for free, no matter how expensive it was. The people had no idea how he could afford that, but they loved him for it. Little did they know that he was an Archangel in disguise, using too many miracles to get his hands on expensive meds, keep pharmaceutical giants off his back and pay his bills).</p><p>Through the commotion, Raphael turned to the person next to him and whispered: “What the heck is going on?!”</p><p>“Must have been a demonic miracle”, the other whispered back. “Certainly wasn't me, though.”</p><p>Raphael frowned, but went back to handing out the exact medication each of his customers needed.</p><p>Meanwhile the person limped over to the window to see, if the blackout affected the neighbourhood as well.</p><p>“Damn! Seems like the whole city has been affected – OH WOW! EVERYBODY, LOOK AT THE NIGHT SKY!”</p><p>The delighted outcry caused everyone to run out and see it for themselves.</p><p>There were oohs and aahs, like they had never seen a really dark sky before – and considering this was New York, they probably hadn't.</p><p>A small child in a wheelchair asked her parents: “Mommy, daddy! What are those things! Are they UFOs?”</p><p>“Holy shit! They are!”, an adult man cried.</p><p>But then someone started to cackle and everybody turned to a tall blonde woman with a walking cane.</p><p>“Silly man!”, Asmodeus snickered. “Those aren't UFOs! Those are the stars! And that white structure running across the sky, that's our galaxy, the Milky Way! Have you never seen a starry sky before?”</p><p>“… Nah”, the man admitted sheepishly. A few others admitted that neither had they.</p><p>The girl in the wheelchair tugged at Asmodeus' coat. “Ma'am, are you sure they're not aliens?”</p><p>Asmodeus nodded. “Absolutely. Now, don't look so disappointed!”, ze laughed at the child's pout. “Look at the stars! Don't you think they're pretty?”</p><p>The kid's pout morphed into a huge smile and she nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>Meanwhile Raphael had joined the crowd outside.</p><p>When he looked up, he too couldn't help but be in awe. It had been ages, since he had seen such a dark sky and it was just so …</p><p>“Raphael.”</p><p>The Archangel of Healing turned to his nemesis. To his shock, zir eyes were misty (of course it was too dark for the humans to notice, but <em>he</em> saw it nonetheless) and ze was visibly struggling to keep zir emotions in check.</p><p>“Look at the stars!”, ze whispered. “Look at them! When was the last time we saw a sky like this, you and I? I can see all of the constellations, big and small! I can see <em>my</em> constellation! I … I can see my <em>star</em>!”</p><p>When one thought about it, it was actually irrational to get so excited, as the Polaris, the star in question, was the brightest star of the constellation it belonged to (Ursa Minor) and one of the brightest in the night sky. And it didn't even belong to Asmodeus' constellation (Ursa Major)².</p><p>But that was a human's point of view.</p><p>The Prince of Lust – as a demon, who taught zir summoners astronomy, among other things – was wired differently. And so was Archangel Raphael.</p><p>He smiled: “Yes. They're spectacular. Just like you.”</p><p>Ze whirled around and stared at him in surprise. Then zir expression softened.</p><p>“Silly, little Archangel”, ze muttered.</p><p>But Raphael didn't fail to notice the faint blush on the Archdemon's face even in the darkness.</p><p>And the Archangel couldn't help but grin just a little.</p><p>Only a handful of people could get Asmodeus – the notorious Prince of Lust, King of Demons, spouse of Lilith, etc. – flustered and blushing like a teenager.</p><p>.</p><p>“Did … did you just cause a motherfucking <em>blackout</em> in the entire city of New York?!”, Uriel asked incredulously.</p><p>But ere they could do something to fix the chaos, Astaroth snickered.</p><p>“<em>Don't worry”</em>, she signed. <em>“I made it so that hospitals aren't afflicted. After all, I wouldn't want Raphael the Demon-Slayer on my back, would I? But fear not, no one is going to die tonight. Well, apart from the mandatory crime victims that happen almost each and every other night.”</em></p><p>Uriel opened their mouth to protest, but she just put a finger onto their mouth and then pointed heavenwards.</p><p>Their eyes followed her hand in confusion, only to widen in surprise.</p><p>The blackout had neutralised the light pollution.</p><p>And there were the stars, decorating the sky and shining down onto the world in all their splendour. There was the Milky Way and Uriel could see the constellations they were responsible for.</p><p>“<em>You wanted to see this, didn't you?”</em>, Astaroth asked telepathically. <em>“I saw the longing in your eyes, as you looked at the sky earlier. And …” </em>she grinned,<em> “… you were humming 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star' of all songs.”</em></p><p>“Shush”, Uriel grumbled, but couldn't really find it in their heart to be angry.</p><p>And judging by the coy smile on Astaroth's face, she was quite aware of it.</p><p>“<em>Just lean back, look up to the stars and relax”</em>, she signed. <em>“Who cares about the chaos and the mass panic of those silly humans? Raphael can fix that for you.”</em></p><p>For once the Angel of Knowledge followed that advice, knowing that they could indeed count on the Healing Angel to handle this.</p><p>.</p><p>The two lay like that on the roof for a few hours, just enjoying the extremely rare view of a really dark and starry night sky over New York.</p><p>Then the Archduchess whistled lowly to catch the Archangel's attention.</p><p>Uriel gave her a questioning glance.</p><p>But the look they received in return made them sigh: an encouraging smile. And Uriel knew exactly what Astaroth wanted to encourage them to do.</p><p>Although, now that their mind was more at ease, they thought they could do it.</p><p>The hoary Archangel rose and the Archdemon followed.</p><p>“Can you come with me?”, Uriel asked. A childish request really, but just to be sure they would actually do it.</p><p>In response she took one of their hands and teleported both of them a few yards away from the pharmacy, where Raphael seemed to be seeing off a few customers.</p><p>Having brought the Archangel of Knowledge where they wanted to be, Astaroth gave them a slight nudge into the other Archangel's direction, before waving goodbye and teleporting herself elsewhere.</p><p>Uriel took a deep breath, told themselves to stop being a wuss and went over to say hello.</p><p>To Uriel's agitation (though not to their surprise), that smug arsehole Asmodeus was there too.</p><p>And sure enough, ze noticed them first: “Oh, Raphael! Look who has come to visit you!”</p><p>Raphael whirled around and his face lit up brighter than the sun.</p><p>“Uriel!”</p><p>At once the hoary Archangel was tackled by the small bespectacled brunet that was Archangel Raphael and he was beaming up at them.</p><p>“What a pleasant surprise!”, he exclaimed happily. “I didn't know you were in New York!”</p><p>Asmodeus cleared zir throat, reminding them that ze was there.</p><p>“I'm leaving you two to it”, ze told them. “I don't really appreciate being the third wheel, so I'll be on my merry way.”</p><p>Then ze addressed Uriel. “By the way, you don't happen to know, who caused the blackout?”</p><p>Uriel sighed: “Astaroth. She wanted to watch the stars with me. She also took me here.”</p><p>Asmodeus pouted: “Aww! Really, she could at least have said hello! Oh well. I suppose I'll have to thank her later, for this beautiful night sky.”</p><p>With a wink ze added: “Thank you for this night, Raphael! It was <em>delightful</em>! See you soon, my beloved nemesis! And I suppose you too, Uriel. Bye!” Then ze was gone.</p><p>Uriel scowled at the spot from which the Prince of Lust just had vanished.</p><p>“Fucking arsehole!”, they grumbled.</p><p>“I know”, Raphael chuckled. “But let's not dwell on that! Oh, it's so good to see you! It's so sweet of you to visit! I miss you all so much, you have no idea! You have to tell me everything! How have you been? How are our siblings? And the other Angels, are they okay?”</p><p>Uriel smiled: “Don't worry, everyone is fine.”</p><p>“Come inside with me!”, the smaller Archangel bubbled excitedly. “I will fix us both some coffee. I have to go back to London in a few hours, but until then we will have a lot to talk about!”</p><p>Then he pulled them inside.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>1) Inanna: Mesopotamian goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, war, the planet Venus, justice and political power. Also known as Ishtar and eventually as Astarte/Ashtoreth, from whom Astaroth is derived.<br/>2) In the Testament of Solomon, Asmodeus mentions to Solomon, that zir star (i.e. constellation) is the Big Dipper, which belongs to the constellation Ursa Major.<br/>My headcanon (and it's really just that, I swear) is that Asmodeus was formerly the Angel of the Polaris, among other things. The Polaris (which is currently the north star), however, is part of another constellation, the Ursa Minor.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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